This invention relates to picking tools, and more particularly for a manual picking tool having a changeable head contact portion and improved operation.
Tools for picking up items incorporate an articulatable gripping head portion with an elongate pole portion having an actuator at the end distal from the head, so that a user can hold the tool with one hand and actuate the head to close and clamp onto an item, for picking the item up by use of the same hand. This keeps the other hand free, which can be used to retrieve the item from the picking tool, if desired. Typical uses include picking up items from the ground, such as litter, for example, and for grasping items that would otherwise be out of reach, for example, items stored on shelves.
Some picking tools employ an actuator requiring the user to operation the tool by closing the fingers of one hand as a group, drawing the fingers toward the palm. However, since the same hand is holding the picking tool, this manner of operation puts an amount of strain on the user's wrist, such that long term use is uncomfortable, or such that the weight of items that can be picked up without wrist strain or pain is reduced considerably.